An Unhinged and absolutely wild sci-fi action from the Hong Kong Golden
Era year of 1992, directed by Peter Mak
and produced by Tsui Hark.
The Wicked City was actually one of the first movies
from Hong Kong that i ever saw. This was sometime in the early 1990's,
maybe 1993 or 1994
and i watched it on a Hong Kong VHS obtained from a local videoshop
here in Stockholm, Sweden, "Lisas Video"
a small shop owned by and for
Chinese Cantonese speaking people in Stockholm. Soon however Swedish
non-chinese film nerds as myself was flocking there and buying all their
rental VHS copies. This was in the beginning of the emerging HK movie
wave in the west where Kung Fu and John Woo bullet opera films already
were popular and now also the strange, wild and hyperkinetic films of
sci-fi, horror and category III started to make a buzz.
My
video rental membership card at Lisas Video
I remember how the amazing hyperkinetic energy and movement
in the film totally overwhelmed me, a swedish guy used to the more flegmatic
styled
movies of the west. This Hyper Kinetic quality was a totally unique
trait of the Hong Kong film, and disappeared sometime during the 1990's,
Lost.
This was also the element that made western artfilm lovers look down
on the Hong Kong film as trashy, unserious etc. bla bla gobble gobble.
I loved it though and watching all these wonderful Hong Kong movies,
later, when the DVD showed up, made me want to open a film shop on the
net,
which i did with my Strange Things website 2001-2009. Today, i miss
this Hyperkinetic style of filmmaking in Hong Kong films, the energy
....
This wild and energetic film, an unhinged Sci-Fi fantasy
action based on the Japanese anime "Supernatural Beastie
City" where Man is in war with
Rapters, mutants or aliens, and who can shift shape
into human form. Yes, sounds as something from any new TV series today
in 2019, a popular
theme, but this film was made in 1992.This film was also made before
the era of CGI and had to rely on manually made effects, and WOW there
are
som really cool and innovative effects in this film with my favourite
one maybe the bonkers Time Woman Raptor Machine Motorcycle
Above: The Old Thai DVD edition of Wicked City
In Hong Kong the agents Taki/Leung (Leon Lai) and Ken
Kai/Ying (Jacky Cheung) works for the Anti Rapter Bureau filled with
ESP powered
agents, and situated at the top of a building protected by an anti-Rapter
magnetic field. Ken is half Rapter himself and Taki is in love with
the
beautiful Rapter girl Gaye/Windy (the gorgeous Michelle Reis).
She's an underling to the leader of the Rapters, Daishu (Tatsuya Nakadai)
a
good monster mutant who only wants to do business with- and live peacefully
among the humans.
But, Yuen/Daishu has an evil son Gwei/Shudo (Roy Cheung)
who spreads the deadly drug Happiness and his father is blamed by the
humans.
Will there be an all out Rapter attack on Hong Kong ? Rapters are shape-shifters
equipped with great Telekinetic powers and all agents of the
Anti-Rapter Bureau has got strong ESP powers too. Tremendous pace, energy
and imaginatively made effects make this film a Golden Era Great
The Blu-ray is presented in widescreen and with a cantonese
(or mandarin) PCM 2.0 audio with english subtitles, trailer extra.
Region A